Many people have been arbitrarily taken during check-ins and their families do not know where their loved ones are or in what condition they are, the United Nations said. Human Rights Watch has said that people who disappear by force are more likely to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment than others who have been arrested.
The National League for Democracy (NLD), Zaw Myat Lynn, died in custody on Tuesday after being arrested in the largest city in Yangon, Reuters reported, referring to ousted MP Ba Myo Thein.
The Watchdog Group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) released a statement saying: “Zaw Myat Lynn, who was head of an educational institute, was pronounced dead today from injuries similar to torture following an arbitrary check attack. “
The exact cause of death is still unknown, but AAPP added Zaw Myat Lynn was beaten.
Shortly before his arrest, Zaw Myat Lynn posted a live stream on Facebook in which he said: “I want to encourage all citizens across the country to protest 24 hours a day, day and night against the dictatorship.”
He urged people to keep fighting the army and said: “We will risk our lives to defeat them.”
“We point out to the international communities, including the UN and other agencies, that we, the citizens of Myanmar, want democracy and that we value democracy as the most precious thing in our lives,” he said.
It follows the death of Khin Maung Latt, chairman of the NLD party in Yangon, who died in custody on Saturday.
“On the night of his arrest, Khin Maung Latt was tortured to death in his cell,” AAPP said in a news release. Reports of bruises on Khin Maung Latt’s head and body have raised suspicions that he was abused, Ba Myo Thein, the NLD legislator, told Reuters.
CNN can not independently verify this reporting and the details surrounding the deaths of Zaw Myat Lynn and Khin Maung Latt’s are not immediately clear.
Law enforcement groups called on the military junta, led by coup leader Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, to investigate the deaths immediately and impartially.
“Mythical junta manages the security forces and can quickly find out who killed Khin Maung Latt if they want to,” Brad Adams, director of Asia Rights at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “If they want to show that they believe in the rule of law, all those responsible must be held accountable. Unfortunately, Myanmar’s security forces seem to be planning to use counter – attacks and brutal abuse to create fear and popular resistance to the military. to break the rule. ”
Myanmar has been embroiled in turmoil since the military seized power, detained state adviser Suu Kyi and formed a new junta to run the country. For more than a month, protesters across Myanmar turn up in the thousands every day to resist military rule.
Security forces responded with increasing violence and brutality. Witnesses reported extrajudicial killings, while footage and photos showed police and army shooting dead protesters and beating prisoners.
According to the UN, at least 54 people were killed in the protests, although activists say the number is higher. AAPP said 1939 people had been arrested, charged or sentenced since the coup.
The editorial staff of the publications told Myanmar Now that the offices of the media stores Mizzima and Kamayut Media were closed by security forces on Tuesday afternoon.
No staff at Mizzima were detained, but a family member said Kamayut’s co-founder and editor-in-chief had been arrested by security forces, Myanmar Now reports.
Myanmar Now founder said their own offices were shut down on Monday. Myanmar Now and Mizzima are among the five media that have been stripped of their publishing licenses.
“They also seized computers, seized printers and parts of the news server’s data server,” Lei Win said, adding that no one was in office at the time, and never since the coup.
“Obviously this was done in a very public way. Witnesses saw the security forces storm into the building where the office was, and there was this display of power that might have been trying to send a message,” she said.
CNN’s Sophie Jeong and Pauline Lockwood reported.